BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund embarks on new partnership with JD.com
The British Fashion Council has announced a new partnership between the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund and JD.com, China’s largest retailer.
The BFC said the partnership will enable it to help British fashion talent engage with the Chinese market.
Earlier this year JD.com launched JD Fashion with the aim of expanding its global fashion presence and bring more brands to China.
The new partnership will be effective from January 2018 and will benefit the 2018 Fund winners. To launch the partnership, JD Fashion supported Mary Katrantzou, winner in 2015, and Huishan Zhang, shortlisted in 2017, on their London Fashion Week September 2017 shows.
Caroline Rush, chief executive of British Fashion Council, said: “The Chinese market is extremely important to our designers. This partnership with JD Fashion is very exciting as it will enable us to offer to the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund expertise on how to best penetrate the Chinese market. JD.com is a company that is known for protecting its brands against counterfeits, something very important as we need to make sure that the creativity and excellence of our designers is protected.”
Xia Ding, president JD Fashion, added: “We believe strongly in partnering with designers throughout their careers, from helping them get their start in the industry, to entering the Chinese market and building their brands, to protecting their IP. This marks a starting point for what we expect to be a deep, long-term relationship with the British fashion community.”
Other funders of the £200,000 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund include British Vogue, Burberry, Harrods, LABEL, Paul Smith and Topshop.
Mother of Pearl and Palmer Harding, winners of the 2017 Fund, have received a full mentoring programme through the BFC’s Business Support team, including access to funders and industry experts.
Previous winners include Christopher Kane, Erdem, Nicholas Kirkwood, Peter Pilotto and Sophia Webster.
